BASEBALL

BASEBALL; Magadan Says 4 Clubs Are Set to Make Offers

By JOE SEXTON

Published: November 12, 1992

Dave Magadan, the free-agent infielder, said yesterday that four teams would follow up on preliminary negotiations and extend offers to him in the immediate aftermath of next Tuesday's expansion draft.

"There are some real good situations for me," the longtime first and third baseman for the Mets said of the clubs that have contacted him.

The specter of such offers makes for an interesting situation in the offices at Shea Stadium. The Mets have left Eddie Murray exposed for the draft. While it is unlikely the 36-year-old first baseman will be selected, were the Mets to lose Murray, they would be left without a bona fide first baseman. The club might then have to act swiftly to retain Magadan, who is 30 years old and held the first-base job for the 1990 and 1991 seasons.

"It's hard for me right now to comment on what might happen because of their decision with Murray," said Magadan. Mets Don't Seem Alarmed

The Mets didn't seem publicly alarmed yesterday by either the possible loss of Murray or the offers Magadan could act on in the hours after the draft.

"That's not a priority," Gerry Hunsicker, vice president for baseball operations for the Mets, said of the club's plans with respect to Magadan. "It's a big puzzle out there, and you can't go at it haphazardly. Our priority is pitching at the moment."

Magadan said the Mets had telephoned last week and explained their position. It was clear to Magadan that the club wasn't in a rush to re-sign him until it had reached decisions on the plans for Vince Coleman and Howard Johnson.

If the Mets were to retain Coleman, Howard Johnson could well end up back at third base, and the club's need for Magadan would be mostly as a bench player. But if Coleman were to be traded or taken in the draft, Johnson could remain in the outfield and the Mets might want to sign Magadan as their everyday third baseman.

"Whatever offers I get, I will naturally go back to the Mets and ask them their intentions," said Magadan, who claimed he had received expressions of interest from as many as 11 clubs in the last week. "I'm not going to jump ship without the courtesy of talking to them. Money is and never has been the problem. It's the playing situation I am going to find myself in. And I think, based on the talks we've had, that I'm going to have the chance to play on perhaps a young club that is on the verge of being a contender." No Clubs Mentioned

Magadan declined to identify the clubs that were preparing offers, but said they included teams from both the American and National Leagues.

The Mets, according to their top organization officials, are currently directing their energies toward identifying pitchers they can obtain to both fill out their rotation and replace the useful pitcher they lost in trading Wally Whitehurst to San Diego as part of obtaining shortstop Tony Fernandez.

"We've got people targeted," said Hunsicker.

"We've had preliminary talks," said General Manager Al Harazin.

The Mets have contacted the agent for pitchers Mike Moore, Mike Bielecki, Mark Gubicza and Scott Bankhead, and there have been discussions of varying seriousness about that contingent of talent.

The four would make up an intriguing assortment of pitchers for the Mets. Moore, who won 17 games for the Oakland Athletics, would appear to be out of the price range the Mets have established for the fourth or fifth starter they want to acquire. But Bielecki, 2-4 with a 2.57 earned run average for the Atlanta Braves, could fit the need well if his health is certain.

Gubicza, who has had shoulder trouble mar the last couple of seasons, is an estimable talent who was a 20-game winner in 1988. He was 7-6 with a 3.72 earned run average for the Kansas City Royals last season. Bankhead, who could be the quality swingman that Whitehurst was for the Mets, finished 10-4 with the Cincinnati Reds last season and might be worth a significant investment.